


dizzy stargazer

by disastermovie



Category: The Terror (TV 2018)
Genre: Backstory, Canonical Character Death, Gen, Self-Reflection, Silna-centric, Vignette, frostyfuntime2k19
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-18 02:26:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21920302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/disastermovie/pseuds/disastermovie
Summary: Silna watches the lights in the sky.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 13
Collections: janky franky's frosty fun time 2k19





	dizzy stargazer

**Author's Note:**

> Written for day eight of [Janky Franky Frosty Funtime 2k19](https://frostyfuntime.tumblr.com/). Today's prompt was **aurora**.
> 
> Title from "New Constellations" by Ryn Weaver.

Silna remembers how big the lights in the sky were when she was a child. The tall green streak above her looked so still at first, but the lights would slowly shift over time, the immensity of it stunning her into silence. She supposes that was a good thing, as her parents always reminded her to stay perfectly quiet whenever the lights came out. They never liked letting her outside to watch them for long, _anaana_ especially; she always reminded her of the spirits that made up the lights, who had all died bloody deaths and were so lonely. If Silna made any noise, they would hear her, then snatch her up to keep them company before she could even try running back inside.

Silna rarely needed to be told something more than once.

She learned to be careful when _anaana_ died, but she still looked up at the lights when they came. Usually _ataata_ would watch them with her. Sometimes, when they stayed with _akkak_ ’s camp, he would stand next to her instead. She’s never been sure if it was to watch the lights or his niece. Either way, she never minded the company.

After _ataata_ gave Tuunbaq his tongue and they left _akkak_ behind, the lights felt different to her. _Ataata_ learned to leave her be, then, as Silna escaped the silence of their tent for the less-stifling quiet outside. The lights were still beautiful, but Silna felt some of the fear that _anaana_ must have felt when she was young. She could swear that they seemed to come closer, the longer she was outside. If she listened closely, she could hear a faint crackling sound, the hairs on her arms standing up when it came. Silna both welcomed and feared the sound. It was better than nothing at all.

Sometimes, when the silence between them became too much, Silna would ramble to fill it up. Even when she knew _ataata_ couldn’t respond. He learned to talk in other ways: a gentle stroke to her cheek, a flick of her ear, a low hum. He braided her hair, sometimes. _Ataata_ was comfort, even in the worst moments.

 _Ataata_ is gone now; _Anaana_ was gone a long time ago. Silna was lonely often, when it was just her and her silenced father, but this ache in her chest is worse than anything that she’s felt before. When _anaana_ died in her sleep, Silna still had _ataata_. _Ataata_ died violently in a strange ship at the hands of strange men, so now Silna has no one but the snow around her and the bright lights above her.

She can feel it, _ataata_ among the spirits who all died such horrible deaths, lighting up the sky. They’re beautiful. _Anaana_ always said that they were lonely; Silna doesn’t like thinking of _ataata_ as lonely. She’s always been compelled to silence underneath the lights, even before she truly understood the weight of _anaana_ ’s warnings. And yet, Silna has never felt more compelled to start screaming and shouting, to jump up and wave her arms around, to tell _ataata_ to come back down and hold her like a child again. The lights feel so far away.

The crackling sounds louder than ever.

**Author's Note:**

> Inuktitut based on the glossary on [Inuktut Tusaalanga](https://tusaalanga.ca/glossary).
> 
>   * Ataata = Father
>   * Anaana = Mother
>   * Akkak = Uncle (father's brother)
> 

> 
> I'm on tumblr at [diydumpsterdiving](https://diydumpsterdiving.tumblr.com/).


End file.
